Smith’s School Record Run Paces UMBC Men on Second Day of IC4A Championships

May 17, 2014

PRINCETON, N.J. – UMBC senior Andrew Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) paced the preliminary field and broke the program record in the 800m run for the third time this outdoor season as the Retriever men's track and field team competed on the second day of the IC4A Championships, Saturday at William Weaver Track and Field Stadium.

Smith, who became the sixth athlete in program history to reach the NCAA Championships when he competed at the national indoor meet in March, led the runners not only in heat three of four, but the entire field in the 800m event. The senior crossed the line with a time of 1:48.72, close to a second ahead of the next-best finisher, Columbia's Brendon Fish (1:49.44), as well as his previous UMBC record (1:49.64). He now leads the field into Sunday's finals.

Classmate Jake Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) also moved on, coming close to besting his own school record in the 1,500m event. The senior placed ninth in the race with a time of 3:48.59, just a touch behind his program-leading time of 3:48.59 set last year.

Two other Retrievers advanced to Sunday's final round as seniors Dennison Long (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt/FIU) and Trae Proctor (Brandywine, Md./Thomas Stone) reached the finals of the 100m dash and 110m hurdles, respectively. Long led the pack in the prelims of the short sprint with a time of 10.58. In the semis he cut his time down to 10.41 and qualified for the finals in third place.

Long also ran in the 200m event on Saturday and placed ninth, just out of the qualifying spots, with a time of 21.43.

Proctor, meanwhile, started his day with a time of 14.10 in the prelims to move on, and then ran a 14.33 in the semis of the 110m hurdles to advance to Sunday. He holds the UMBC program record in the event with his time of 13.88 set at the Mason Spring Invitational in April.

The final day of competition at the 2014 IC4A Championships begins on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. with the shot put event.